Open frame belt wrapper



April 25, 1961 o. MAXIMILIAN OPENFRAME BELT WRAPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 00tl, 1956 H INVENTOR. OCTA YIAN MAXIMILIAN BY y/ 1571: ATTORNEY April 25, 1961 o. MAXIMILIAN OPEN FRAME BELT WRAPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 00tl, 1956 INVENTOR. OCTAYIAN MAXIMILIAN yf/w Ms ATTORNEY United States Patent OPEN FRAME snrr WRAPPER Octavian Maximilian, Erentwood, Pa., assignor to United Engineering and Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania "Filed Oct. 1, 1956, Ser. No. 613,010

7 Claims. (Cl. 24278.5)

.subsequently coiled on a rotating reel. Apparatus of this nature has been extensively employed in combination with cold rolling operations and has recently also found adaptation to some extent in the hot rolling of nonferrous strfp materials. The construction of the units normally employed consists generally of several upright spaced apart parallel frames between which are mounted a plurality of freely rotatable rollers and over which a number of continuous belts are restrained to pass. The wrapper is adapted to be brought into cooperative relationship with a reel in such a fashion that the belts encircle a substantial portion of the reels periphery so that the lead'ng end of the strip is positively guided around the reel thereby to form the first wrap of a coil which will thereafter be formed thereon. After several wraps of strip have been made on the reel, the belt wrapper is usually retracted and disengaged from the reel and the reel thereafter continues to coil the strip to form a coil the size desired. The construct'on details of a belt wrapper of this type are clearly shown and described in United States Patent Number 2,309,781.

One of the serious limitations in belt wrappers normally employed, which limitation the present invention completely obviates, is that in the event it becomes necessary to remove and replace the continuous or endless belts, several, if not all, of the belt wrapper rollers must be removed, including their supporting shafts to free the belts. On the replacement of the belts, the shafts and rollers must again be reinserted in their original positions. Inasmuch as the life of the belts is relatively short, due to abrasion and cuts caused by the leading end of the strip coming in contact therewith, it is apparent that frequent replacement of the belts must be effected thereby resulting in considerable loss of time during the interval required for accomplishing the operation. In the present day belt Wrappers it is necessary to remove the rollers and shafts even though but one of the belts requ:'res changing. Although, to some extent, jointed or spliced belts have been employed, which may be readily disconnected at the point of juncture for removal or replacement, generally they are not acceptable since in most instances marks on the strip are caused thereby.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide a belt wrapper in which one ormore endless belts may be employed which is so constructed as to permit the belts to be readily removed and replaced Without necessitating the removal of any other elements Of the .belt wrapper assembly.

It is another object of this invention to provide a belt wrapper employing a cantilever support for the rollers and belts comprising at least one end frame so suspended as to provide a clearance around the entire perimeter of the frame in order to permit the belt to be passed over the end frame for removal from and replacement on the wrapper.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a belt wrapper structure having means for maintaining the belts thereof under tension and which means are adapted to permit the belts to become loose for ready removal from the structure.

It is another object of this invention to provide a belt wrapper assembly from wh'ch the belts may be readily removed and replaced with a minimum effort and loss of time.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a belt wrapper from which the individual belts thereof may be quickly and efiiciently removed without necessitatng the removal of any other elements of the wrapper assembly.

These objects, as well as the various other novel features and advantages of the invention, will become apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

Fig. l is a general plan view partly in section of a belt wrapper incorporating the novel feature of the invention disclosed herein;

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional elevational view taken on lines 11-11 of Fig. 1, and

Pg. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken on lines III-III of Fig. 2.

With reference to the drawings, there is illustrated in Fig. l, which constitutes the preferred form of the present invention, a belt wrapper 11 adapted to be placed into and out of cooperative relationship with a reel 12 shown in outl'ne form in Fig. 2 on which strip material issuing from a rolling mill or other strip processing apparatus (not shown) is wound. The reel, of course, is provided with suitable driving means for driving it at a speed preferably slightly greater than the speed of the strip so that the str'p on being coiled will be maintained under tension. The principal function of the belt wrapper is to guide the leading end of the strip around the reels periphery and to insure the coiling of the first few wraps to form a base for the coil to be Wound thereon. The belt wrapper is maintained in engagement with the reel at least until the strip leading end is firmly gripped by the overlapping wraps.

The belt wrapper essentially consists of a very rigid upright centrally arranged main frame 13 which is firmly secured at its base to a rectangular-shaped platform 14. The platform 14 is provided with two pairs of spaced wheels 15 which engage with and move along tracks 16 mounted on a stationary sub-platform 17. Movement of the platform is effected by a piston-cylinder assembly 18 connected thereto by means of a downwardly extending bracket 19, the cylinder being also mounted on the subplatform 17 and at one end thereof. In order to add rjgidity to the main frame a T-shaped plate 2.2 is secured to the top surface thereof as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3 with the base of the 'i' secured to the front of the belt wrapper assembly. Midway between the ends of the main frame the cross of the T extends transversely over the entire assembly. The cross or top portion of the T-shaped plate 22 is secured to an upright plate 23 arranged perpendicular thereto, which plate is perpendicular to and secured to the main frame 13 and the platform 14. At the bottom of the main frame and similar in shape to plate 22 there is a plate 24 which extends a a 3 from the front of the platform 14 to the front end of the frame 13 to which it is secured.

Spaced from the main frame 13 and parallel thereto there are two identically shaped end frames 25 which are connected to the main frame 13 by spaced tubing 26 and separator plates 27 including at the front end of the assembly crescent-shaped plates 23. The frames 13 and 25 are also crescent-shaped at their forward ends so as to permit clearance for the wrapper to be brought into and encircling relationship with the reel 1.2. The end frames 25 as thus supported provide a cantilever structure having a clearance around the entire perimeter thereof, i.e., the edges of the end frames will be free and clear and not in contact with any other element of the belt wrapper assembly. This feature is clearly evident in Figs. 2 and 3 wherein the top surfaces of the end frames 25 are shown to be entirely open. At the inboard ends of the end frames a clearance is provided between the sides thereof and the upright plates 23. The bottoms of the frames are out of contact with the platform 14 and, of course, the outboard ends are also clear and unobstructed.

Not only does the present invention provide for the end frames 25 to be open but, substantially the entire top and bottom of the belt wrapper are also open. In Figs. 1 and 3 the top opening is shown to extend from the front end of the belt wrapper assembly to the cross of the T-shaped plate 22 and the bottom opening is shown to extend from the front end of the assembly to the forward portion of the platform 14. The utility of this open frame construction will be readily apparent when the remainder of the elements of the belt wrapper are considered in conjunction therewith.

Between the frames there are provided freely rotatable sets of rollers 32, 33, 34 and 35 which are arranged in pairs on either side of the main frame 13 and mounted on stationary shafts 33 received in and supported by the frames. The rollers, which are frustro-conical in shape, are freely rotatable with respect to and are transversely positioned on the shafts 33, and are engaged by four endless belts 39 which pass thereo-ver. The rollers 32, 33, 34 and 35 are also provided with flanged ends for maintaining the belts in their proper aligned relationship. A set of rollers 36 is mounted at the end of arms 40 which arms are pivotally attached to the front ends of the frames 13 and 25 by stub shafts 41. Another set of rollers 37, similar to rollers 32, is individually mounted in yokes 43 attached to the ends of parallel rods of individual piston-cylinder assemblies 44. It will be observed in this particular construction that the rollers 37 are adapted to engage the outside surface of the belts and are employed to maintain the belts under a predetermined tension as determined by controlling the pressure in the piston-cylinder assemblies 44. The piston-cylinder assemblies 44 are mounted on a platform 45 secured to the platform 1.14 and are each equipped with a pair of guide rods 46 slidably mounted in guide blocks '47 mounted on the platform 45, which rods extend through suitable openings in the upright plate 23, along with the rods of the piston-cylinder assemblies 44, and the ends thereof are connected to the yokes 43. In this arrangement, the cylinders are normally under pressure so that the belts 42 are always maintained under tension whether or not the belt wrapper is in engagement with the reel. The reel engaging position of the belt wrapper is shown in broken lines in Fig. 2 and the inoperative or retracted position of the wrapper is shown in full lines also in Fig. 2. However, when one or more of the belts are to be removed because they have become worn, the belt wrapper is retracted to its inoperative position and the rollers 37 are moved rearwardly by admitting pressure to the front end of the cylinders so that all tension is removed from the belts in order to loosen them for ready removal.

To the stub shafts 41, which pivotally connect the arms 40 to the front ends of the frames 25, there are keyed at one of their end links 48, the opposite ends of the links being connected to turnbuckles 52 arranged on the outside of the belt wrapper assemblyas can best be seen in Fig. 1. The turnbuckles 52 extend toward the back of the wrapper and are connected to the upper ends of levers 53 keyed to the opposite ends of a transversely extending shaft 54 thereby tying the two outside arms 40 together. The shaft 54, at its center, is keyed to a lever 55 extending in a generally vertical downward direction with a freely rotatable cam roller 56 mounted at its lower end. An opening is provided in the top of the platform 14 to provide clearance for permitting the lever 55 to pivot therein. Centrally arranged beneath the belt wrapper there is a cam track 57 mounted on the stationary sub-platform 17, extending in a longitudinal direction and adapted normally to be engaged by the cam roller 56.

The cam track 57 terminates at a predetermined point along the track 16 as determined by the distance of the reel therefrom so that on the forward travel of the belt wrapper toward the reel and just prior to the engagement of the belts therewith the cam roller 56 will drop down in the recess provided therefor and immediately contact an upwardly extending stop 59 pivotally secured at its lower end to the stationary platform 17. The stop, connected to a spring biased plunger 62, prevents the cam roller 56 from traveling any further forward so that as the wrapper continues to move forward the lever 55 will pivot about the roller 56 to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 2 thereby causing the arms 40 to move in a downward direction so that the belts are brought into their reel engaging position. As the material builds up on the reel, the rollers 36 are forced outward and the spring biased plunger 62 will yield sufficiently to prevent damage to the wrapper assembly and particularly to the arms 40 which might occur due to the increase in pressure caused by the building up of the coil. After several wraps have been made, the wrapper is retracted by actuating the piston-cylinder assembly 18 in the reverse direction.

When the wrapper is retracted, the cam roller 56 remains in engagement with the stop 59 and the end of the cam track 57 until the wrapper assembly has been moved a distance sufiicient to cause the levers to draw the arms 40 to their raised position at which point the roller 56 will be raised to the top of the cam and travel therealong to the final point of retraction. However, during the interval the cam roller 56 remains in the recess between the end of the cam and the stop 59, which is also true during forward movement of the belt wrapper, the spring biased stop 59 will yield to permit the roller 56 to move downwardly the distance required by change of angle of inclination of the levers 55.

When it is desired to change one or more of the belts 39, pressure in the cylinders 44 is reversed and the rollers 37 are moved in a direction toward the rear of the wrapper, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 2, and thus all tension is removed from the belts. Inasmuch as the edges of the end frames 25 are entirely unobstructed by reason of the cantilever construction defined and illustrated herein, the belts can very readily and simply be removed individually over the left or right end frames depending upon which side of the wrapper assembly they may be in relation to the main frame 13. The open top and bottom construction of the belt wrapper permits easy and efficient handling of the endless belts employed. To replace the belts, they are simply passed over the end frames and engaged with the rollers after which pressure is applied to the piston-cylinder assemblies to cause the rollers 37 to positively engage the belts so that the wrapper will be in readiness for engagement with the reel.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otlierfvise than as specifically illustrated and described.

c arm:

1. In combination with a reel for coiling strip-like material a belt wrapper comprising a frame, a second frame spaced therefrom, said second frame rigidly connected to said first-mentioned frame to form a cantilever structure wherein said second frame is provided with clearance around its entire periphery, a plurality of rollers mounted between said frames, an endless belt in engagement with said rollers, a tension roller, adjustable yieldable means connected to said tension roller adapted in one position normally to cause said roller to engage said belt at the outer surface thereof thereby to tension said belt engaging all of said rollers and in another position to disengage said ro-ller from and to remove all tension from said belt thereby to permit ready removal and replacement of the belt by passage thereof over said rollers and said second frame.

2. In combination with a reel for coiling strip-like material a belt wrapper comprising a main frame, an end frame spaced therefrom, said end frame rigidly connected to said main frame to form a cantilever structure wherein said end frame is provided with clearance around its entire periphery, a plurality of sets of rollers mounted between said frames, a plurality of endless belts normally in engagement with said rollers, yieldable means connected to at least one of said sets of rollers adapted in one position to cause said rollers to tension said belts engaging all of said rollers and in another position to disengage said rollers and to remove all tension from said belts engaging all of said rollers thereby to permit ready removal and replacement of the belts by passing them over said end frame.

3. A belt wrapper in accordance with claim 2 including means for positioning said yieldable means in either of said two positions.

4. In combination with a reel for coiling strip-like material a belt wrapper comprising a main frame, an end frame spaced therefrom, said end frame being rigidly connected to said main frame to form a cantilever structure wherein said end frame has clearance around its entire periphery, a plurality of rollers mounted between said frames, an endless belt in engagement with said rollers, yieldable means connected to at least one of said rollers adapted in one position normally to cause said roller to engage said belt thereby to tension said belt and in another position to withdraw said roller from said belt to remove substantially all tension from said belt thereby to permit ready removal thereof by passing the belt over said rollers and said end frame and means for moving said belt wrapper into and out of its operative position with respect to said reel.

5. In combination with a reel for coiling strip-like material a belt wrapper comprising a main central frame, end frames, said end frames spaced from and rigidly connected to said main frame to form a cantilever structure wherein each of said end frames has clearance around its entire periphery, a plurality of rollers mounted between said main and said end frames, a plurality of endless belts in engagement with said rollers, belt tensioning rollers, adjustable yieldable means connected to said tensioning rollers adapted in one position normally to force said tensioning rollers into contact with and to tension said belts from the outer surface thereof and in another position to withdraw said rollers to remove all tension from the belts thereby to permit ready removal and replacement of said belts by passing them over said end frames.

6. In combination with a reel for coiling strip-like material a belt wrapper comprising a main central frame, end frames spaced therefrom and arranged parallel thereto, means for rigidly connecting said end frames to said main frame to form a cantilever structure wherein each of said end frames has clearance around its entire periphery, a plurality of sets of rollers mounted between said main and said end frames, a plurality of endless belts encompassing and in engagement with said rollers, said frame connecting means being arranged on the inside of the positions occupied by said belts, a belt tensioning roller for each of said belts, adjustable yieldable means connected to said tensioning rollers adapted to place said rollers in one position to engage the outer surface thereof normally to tension said belts and in another position to be disengaged from said belts to remove all tension therefrom therebyto permit ready removal and replacement of the belts by passing them over said rollers and said end frames.

7. In combination with a reel for coiling strip-like material a belt wrapper comprising a main central frame, end frames spaced therefrom and arranged parallel thereto, said end frames rigidly connected to said main frame to form a cantilever structure wherein each of said end frames has clearance around its entire periphery, supports secured to the top and bottom of said main frame thereby to provide areas at the top and bottom of the wrapper which are open, a plurality of sets of parallel rollers rotatably mounted between said main and said end frames, a plurality of endless belts in engagement with said rollers, a separate movable tension roll parallel to and for each of said sets of rollers, yieldable means connected to and for normally urging each of said tension rolls in one direction toward said rollers and into engagement with said belts at the surface opposite to that engaged by said rollers thereby to tension said belts, said yieldable means operatively arranged to withdraw said tension rolls in the opposite direction to remove all tension from said belts thereby to permit ready removal thereof by passage over said end frames.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 151,256 Walker a May 26, 1874 1,282,236 Kenworthy Oct. 22, 1918 2,309,781 OBrien Feb. 2, 1943 2,614,440 Richey Oct. 21, 1952 2,699,904 Wood Ian. 18, 1955 UNITED STATE-2S PATENT OFFICE Z-C%E RE;TIFiCA;TE es QORRECTION Patent N06 2 981 4293 April 25, 1961 Oct-avian Maximilian It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring eorrectiqn and that the said Letters Patent, should read as "corrected below,

Column 6 lines 24 and 25 for "thereof" read of and Signed and sealed this 10th day of October 19 63,

( SEA L) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCQMM-DC- 

